coven
Americannoun
-
covens
plural
noun
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a meeting of witches
-
a company of 13 witches
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of coven
1500–10 for sense “assembly”; 1655–65 for current sense; variant of obsolete covent assembly, religious group, convent
Explanation
A group of witches is called a coven. In books, a coven of witches often gather at night to make potions and cast spells. The mythology of witches has them meeting under cover of night, often in mysterious groups of 13. Although there are only three of them, the "weird sisters" in Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" could be considered a coven. To people who follow the contemporary religion called Wicca, a coven is a gathering, no different from a congregation in Christianity. The word coven arose in the mid-1600s, ultimately from the Latin root conventus, "assembly."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Wonderstruck, then wounded, then wondering why, Carrie is targeted by the standard-issue coven of teen-movie witchery—the vicious, the stupid, and the one with just enough brains to understand right from wrong.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
In 1994, Tori Amos’ U.S. video for her piano anthem “Cornflake Girl” presents a coven of quarreling young women driven through the desert in the back of a pickup truck.
From Salon ● Feb. 19, 2026
It’s like being close to the planet and also feeling part of a coven, just having your peeps around you that lift you up and make you feel that you can be completely yourself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2025
The success of "goth gremlin witch" Bambie Thug at last year's Eurovision has conjured a veritable coven of imitators in 2025.
From BBC ● May 9, 2025
Everyone’s coven had to be sealed by a magical contract, to contain the magic and the witches in their own circles.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
One has to imagine that among the covens of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, similar celebrations of glee are spontaneously erupting today after the two-part finale of “Agatha All Along.”
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2024
“Women studied with Z and then went on to form covens of their own,” Magliocco said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2021
Ryan Murphy's groundbreaking show focuses on a different spooky story each season, tackling the likes of witch covens, haunted hotels, a 1980s slasher story, and even the apocalypse.
From Fox News ● Apr. 16, 2020
Like other ’90s touchstones that are recirculating in the culture — stylized covens, Marianne Williamson — the book has returned at a slightly ironic distance.
From New York Times ● Dec. 17, 2019
Lanterns hung from trees around the square in groups of five to symbolize the incoming covens.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
